{"id":75948,"date":"2022-11-29T10:54:27","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T15:54:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/how-do-i-handle-dinner-with-a-side-of-conspiracy-theory\/"},"modified":"2022-11-29T10:54:27","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T15:54:27","slug":"how-do-i-handle-dinner-with-a-side-of-conspiracy-theory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/how-do-i-handle-dinner-with-a-side-of-conspiracy-theory\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do I Handle Dinner With a Side of Conspiracy Theory?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Catherine Cohen is a comedian and actress. In her original show tunes, in her character videos, and on her popular podcast <\/em>Seek Treatment (cohosted with fellow comedian Pat Regan), she skewers the clich\u00e9s of millennial aspiration, deadpans about sex on antidepressants, and earnestly celebrates such triumphs as finding love or drinking seven beers. Her Netflix special, <\/em>The Twist…? She\u2019s Gorgeous, and her book, <\/em>God I Feel Modern Tonight: Poems From a Gal About Town, are out now.<\/em><\/p>\n

Have a question for Catherine? Send it to askcatherine@wmagazine.com for a chance to be answered in her next column.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m seeing a guy whom my friends hate but my family loves. Whose opinion should I value more?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I hate (read: love) to be such a bitch right up top but in reading your question I wanted to stop after \u201cwhom my friends hate.\u201d In my limited experience\u2014I am but a spritely figment of youth and beauty who owns a MacBook Air\u2014I find that if your friends hate your partner, that person is probably not the one for you. That being said, if your friends merely dislike or aren\u2019t j\u2019addicted to your person, that might shift over time. I\u2019m also curious where your friends are on their romantic journeys\u2014are they mostly single? Coupled? Mid-breakup? I know I\u2019ve reacted poorly to a friend\u2019s new lover out of jealousy or discomfort with my shattered sense of self, but I doubt that\u2019s the case for all of your pals. How long have you been with this guy? Is there a chance that your friends have yet to see the kaleidoscopic range of your king\u2019s personality? Or is this someone who has been in the picture for a while and when you post about him on social media your friends send it to each other with the caption \u201cSOS?\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to your family loving him\u2014I <\/em>actually have a question (my, how the tables have turned). How often do you see your family? How close are you? Do they know the real, messy adult version of you that your friends fell in love with or do you revert back to a good little baby brat when you\u2019re around them? Do they love this guy just because his job title or family background or social status aligns with their surface-level values? Sometimes our families dislike people who help us grow into our most realized selves\u2014they fear losing the version of you that grew up in their house. Often, it\u2019s easier for our friends to see whether a match celebrates the truest version of who we are right now.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, it doesn\u2019t matter what your friends and family think. It only matters what YOU think. You\u2019re the one spending all your time with this guy. Does he make you feel good about yourself? Does he encourage and inspire you to live the life you\u2019ve always dreamed of? Does he see things in you that you may have failed to see in yourself? Does he make your heart and hole go boom boom in the afternoon? I know you came here for answers but all I got for you is more questions\u2026and as Rilke once said you must \u201ctry to love the questions themselves\u2026Do not now seek the answers\u2026Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.\u201d Damn I should really just mail you a copy of Letters to a Young Poet<\/em> instead of making you read this column, but then you wouldn\u2019t get to think about your hole <3 so\u2026who knows!<\/p>\n

Is 37 years old too old to move to New York City? As a queer man I usually never say this, but give it to me straight!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Repeat after me (a straight woman who watches lesbian porn): it is never too late to do what feels good and right and true. Honey!!! Time, like the iPhone, is just a mortal-made invention created to give shape to our slippery little lives. New York City is a place for everyone at every juncture. In fact, 37 is actually one of the hottest ages. One time I met this guy who was 37 and got so wet just talking to him! The human body is cool. And for what it\u2019s worth, you might even enjoy NYC more now than you would have in your early 20s. Presumably in your late 30s you have more money (huge for NYC!!!), more life experience, and a better sense of what makes you happy. Your NYC won\u2019t feel like a Girls<\/em> episode, which is a good thing even though it is one of the greatest television shows of all time. (Do NOT fight me on this!) So go for it. You\u2019re never too old to do what you want to do. The only thing anyone is ever too old to do is date a 20 year old starlet. People need to chill on that front. Xo<\/p>\n

I met a ~boy~ at a festival a month or so ago, and we spent five heavenly days basking in each other\u2019s glory and hanging with his fun, nice friends and enjoying morning, afternoon, evening and dawn sex in a one-man tent \u2014 wow! It must be love! He really makes me laugh, I have a lot of fun with him, I respect his integrity, work ethic, creativity and kindness, I feel very sexy with him and I\u2019m so attracted to him and we have had eyeball-spasm tingling-all-over sex that I\u2019ve had to such a degree rarely before. He also cries, and talks about consent (his own, even) in an extremely healthy way, and is very clear about his boundaries, which I have rarely ever experienced with a straight man, and it turns me on. In the past few weeks, he has gone away a lot on tour, and then when he comes back we will spend a day together, but then he goes away again and he barely messages me, and has never ever asked me to come with him, even though he\u2019s often going to festivals and things that I could attend too if he so pleased. I know I have way too many feelings way too early on, but I can\u2019t actually bear how broken I feel every time he nonchalantly tells me where he\u2019s off to next without a \u201cwish you could come\u201d or \u201cI\u2019ll miss you\u201d or way better \u201cwhy don\u2019t you come.\u201d This might be because he hasn\u2019t had a relationship in 5 years and so is too used to being single. But he is a performer and hasn\u2019t asked me to come see him perform once, I think this is weird? It makes me feel like he\u2019s ashamed of me, or he doesn\u2019t like me enough to want to see me more often, or maybe he just takes way longer than me to feel the feelings I felt pretty much after 5 days. The level of shittiness and anxiety I feel every time I want to message him but tell myself I can\u2019t, or even worse, ask to see him and get a lacklustre reply that he\u2019ll be free sometime next week, makes me think I should call the whole thing off. Life is too short. But then I think maybe I\u2019m just rushing things? I\u2019ve only known the poor lad a mere 4 weeks, I need to calm the fuck down and let him take his time. But the truth is, with a passion like this, I am unable to calm the fuck down. What’s a girl to do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What\u2019s his name? Cuz I feel like I dated him in 2018\u2026Not to discredit what you two have, but so often these promising romantic encounters with artistic types fizzle into thin air. It\u2019s so easy to romanticize someone when you\u2019ve met in a magical setting and don\u2019t yet know that they floss in bed and sometimes the floss ends up under the covers. Wait I\u2019m also scared that he\u2019s a musician\u2026or he\u2019s not a comedian is he? That\u2019s worse. Ugh I\u2019m veering off course. Sometimes these intense flings dissipate because that\u2019s what life and art and music are made of and sometimes they end because we are scared to communicate openly.<\/p>\n

To be honest, I actually think four weeks is too early to jump to conclusions. I don\u2019t like how this guy is making you feel, but I don\u2019t see any major red flags from your description. There are many reasons why he might not invite you to a show or a festival\u2014performing is his job, so it\u2019s kind of like inviting you to work. Also, he might get a little stage fright seeing you there. We (as his ex I\u2019m extremely invested at this point) can\u2019t know the reason why he\u2019s acting this way, and there\u2019s no use in spiraling about it. The only thing you can do is calmly tell him how you feel. Let him know you\u2019d like to communicate more often when you\u2019re apart. Let him know you\u2019d like to pursue something with him. Men are stupid and sometimes all it takes is saying \u201cI like when you say \u2018I miss you\u2019\u201d If he\u2019s into you, he will say \u201cI miss you.\u201d If he\u2019s not, he won\u2019t. His loss. You want someone who makes you feel like you\u2019re the shit whether or not you\u2019re in the same city. It\u2019s as simple as telling him what you\u2019re telling me. How annoying is that! Do you want me to tell him instead? I might have his number.<\/p>\n

What are some fun ways to derail the conservative conspiracy theory dialogue train during the holidays?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oooo sweetie the way this one hits close to home\u2026 I usually spend the holidays with the Catholic side of my family in Texas, so you can imagine there are some disconnects <3 Never forget when my family had to watch me (overeducated Jewish whore) discuss titty fucking my boyfriend on Netflix. Which reminds me\u2026this holiday season, don\u2019t forget to stream my comedy special The Twist? She\u2019s Gorgeous<\/em> on Netflix.com\u2026now back to your regularly scheduled programming:<\/p>\n

At this point, I try to avoid these discussions at all costs. It\u2019s not worth engaging. People rarely do a 180 over gravy and cream casserole. The opinions held by your Fox News-loving relatives are not based in reality so it\u2019s almost impossible to have a productive conversation. If you do find yourself knee deep in a truly bonkers discussion, try asking questions. If you remain curious and get your relatives talking, you\u2019ve got a greater chance of understanding where they\u2019re coming from and\/or encouraging them to veer off onto a tangent.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve learned through Personal Experience that it isn\u2019t helpful to call your loved ones crazy, \u201cdeeply stupid\u201d or have a full meltdown over mashed potatoes, but you can (and should) say you disagree with their sentiments, and, if it applies, give a personal reason why you\u2019re so taken aback by their stance\u2014often these people don\u2019t understand that the bizarre opinions they\u2019re so infatuated with are actually harmful to you, a person they know in real life.<\/p>\n

And if things get out of hand, try just saying something like \u201cI disagree and would rather talk about something else.\u201d Chat about the food, the weather\u2014go look at a baby or a dog. Dogs and babies were invented for this! They don\u2019t even know that my grandmother thinks there is no one living in the white house. And better yet, they don\u2019t care! Life is too short to talk circles around someone who isn\u2019t in touch with the truth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Credit: Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Catherine Cohen is a comedian and actress. In her original show tunes, in her character videos, and on her popular podcast Seek Treatment (cohosted with fellow comedian Pat Regan), she skewers the clich\u00e9s of millennial aspiration, deadpans about sex on antidepressants, and earnestly celebrates such triumphs as finding love or drinking seven beers. Her Netflix […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Do I Handle Dinner With a Side of Conspiracy Theory? - WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/how-do-i-handle-dinner-with-a-side-of-conspiracy-theory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Do I Handle Dinner With a Side of Conspiracy Theory? - WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Catherine Cohen is a comedian and actress. In her original show tunes, in her character videos, and on her popular podcast Seek Treatment (cohosted with fellow comedian Pat Regan), she skewers the clich\u00e9s of millennial aspiration, deadpans about sex on antidepressants, and earnestly celebrates such triumphs as finding love or drinking seven beers. Her Netflix […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/how-do-i-handle-dinner-with-a-side-of-conspiracy-theory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/World-Catholic-News-109605280463871\/?modal=admin_todo_tour\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-29T15:54:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/6f399fb5-2ee3-425a-aa3c-57de22e317f8-0aaff969-fd54-4a0b-bd5a-f60f0b4b5c52-wmag22_rl_catcohen-518-edit.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Worldcatholicn1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Worldcatholicn1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"10 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/\",\"name\":\"WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/how-do-i-handle-dinner-with-a-side-of-conspiracy-theory\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/6f399fb5-2ee3-425a-aa3c-57de22e317f8-0aaff969-fd54-4a0b-bd5a-f60f0b4b5c52-wmag22_rl_catcohen-518-edit.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/how-do-i-handle-dinner-with-a-side-of-conspiracy-theory\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/how-do-i-handle-dinner-with-a-side-of-conspiracy-theory\/\",\"name\":\"How Do I Handle Dinner With a Side of Conspiracy Theory? - WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/how-do-i-handle-dinner-with-a-side-of-conspiracy-theory\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-29T15:54:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-29T15:54:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/491272a1cdc8eb55245d48e5044377c8\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/how-do-i-handle-dinner-with-a-side-of-conspiracy-theory\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/491272a1cdc8eb55245d48e5044377c8\",\"name\":\"NEWS DESK\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f27f47f91f7d6f43179d283d82de5681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"NEWS DESK\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75948"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}